Coconut Boats
by Flashing The Floods
Summary: Surprise gift fic for MellaTheKnightmare! Crappy attempt at fluff-ish type Kentin/Alexy stuff.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: Surprise gift fic for MellaTheKnightmare! She mentioned that she liked Kentin/Alexy in some message or another, so I wanted to give her some. A little Rosa/Candy on the side cause I know she likes that too :3**

**Rating is for pervyness! Beware of pervyness! **Sorry it's crap, Mella. Again, fluff is like the hardest thing for my mediocre crapness to write. ****

**Now to get back to that thing you actually requested DX Sorry I posted this first, I was just working on this before I started working on the other thing, so I finished this first and whatnot. Which says how busy I am, cause shit, you asked for the SnK thing in like, March or some shit. Yeah dude, sorry. This and that would've been waaay done by now if I actually had free time as of late u_u **

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><p>It was on Thursday at exactly 11:37 A.M. that Kentin realized his feelings for Alexy weren't platonic ones. He was poking at a fruit cup with his spork in the courtyard, listening to Armin curse and yell at his game. On the blacktop Alexy was messing around with Kim and Violette. All of them were pretty loud, but Kentin wasn't really paying attention to the conversation. He was trying to figure out what this orange thing in his fruit cup was.<p>

A mandarin orange slice had been his first guess. But looking closer, he didn't think it was that. A nectarine wedge, maybe? Peach?

Definitely something citrus. And very orange. Maybe it wasn't even real. Maybe it was just dyed preservatives with some orange flavoring.

"Ken! Hey Ken, look! I can pick Kim up!"

Kentin glanced over. There was Alexy, giggling and chipper as he held an unamused Kim princess style. The breeze gently ruffled his light blue hair and all the sun's rays could fit in his grin. Jovially perfect. Kentin's heart did a somersault as his blood turned to honey, its rhythm quickening. Uh-oh.

This was _that_ feeling.

Kentin gulped, unable to tear his eyes from his friend's stupidly wonderful giddy face.

He knew it was _that_ feeling because he'd felt it once before for a certain girl at his old school. She wasn't unkind, but _that_ feeling still got stepped on in face of rejection and now he was feeling it all over again.

Love.

Oh crap. Now he was staring. Just great.

"Congratulations?" he vocalized in what he hoped carried the air of indifference. "I don't know when you're ever going to need to pick Kim up."

Alexy started to reply, but the girl in his arms interrupted. "It's called having fun, you should try it some time," and then, to Alexy, "put me down now, it's your turn to be picked up. I bet I can toss you right over my shoulder."

"Just don't hurt me!" Alexy giggled and put her down.

Kentin pointedly turned his attention back to his fruit cup.

Suddenly the orange thing he couldn't identify appeared to be shaped like a heart.

წ

To put it bluntly, Kentin didn't know what to do. He wasn't sure if he should do anything (it's not like confessing worked out last time). But a few days passed and not only did that feeling refuse to wane, but it just seemed to get stronger. He couldn't even look at Alexy without his stomach getting all weird and his pulse racing away from him.

So he had to do something. But he wasn't just going to up and confess. He wanted to get his head together and confess the right way. If he wasn't so frazzled and stammer-y (and creepy, he'll admit, he'd breathily blurted that he'd already had their wedding planned out and what their kids would look like) when he confessed to Candy, maybe she wouldn't have turned him down.

With that thought in mind, he actually decided to ask Candy for advice. Candy was in a relationship, after all. She was friends with Alexy too. She could probably help him with this.

He sought her out after history class, but somehow unloading his dilemma wasn't nearly as easy as it should've been.

"I...um..."

Candy gave him a reassuring smile, her eyes mild and patient.

"You see, I...I..." Damn it! His tongue knotted with every word and his face was flaring hot. If he couldn't even ask for help confessing without getting like this, how the hell was he supposed to actually confess?

"You're really red," Candy stated dubiously.

One could always depend on her to be Captain Obvious.

"I...I like someone," he finally managed. "Not you!" he clarified, seeing her expression. "Well, I like you, but not like, um...You know what I mean..."

"Yeah, I know what you mean." She nodded, features piqued expectantly.

"I was just wondering, how did you...Err, approach Rosalya? When you told her you how you felt?"

"I didn't," Candy answered sheepishly. "I can't help you here; it was Rosa who declared her feelings to me. You should definitely talk to her. She was...Really direct with me. I'm sure she can give you some great tips!" She patted him on the shoulder, either as an apology or a gesture of encouragement.

"I'll ask Rosalya then, thanks." Kentin nodded and departed.

He found Rosalya by her locker after school and hesitantly tapped on her shoulder. She twirled around and gave him a pretty little grin.

"Hey, Kentin. Candy told me you need some guidance in the flirting department."

"Flirting? N-No, not any of that! I mean, I just want to tell him how I feel..." Kentin awkwardly shuffled his feet.

"So it's a him?" Rosalya tittered on. "Let me guess; it's Alexy?"

"Yeah." Kentin blinked, slightly nonplussed. "How'd you know?"

Rosalya giggled. "You guys are together all the time. It isn't exactly hard to figure out." She waved her hand. "Anyway, what you want to do is entice him."

"Entice him?" Kentin repeated, bemused.

"Yep." Rosalya nodded in ascertain and put her hands on her hips. "You're going to declare your feelings for him with the underlaying goal of getting together with him. Make him want to get together with you."

Kentin paused. He did want to get together with Alexy and he really hoped he felt the same way, but making him feel that way...? It sounded manipulative. And how would he do that anyway?

Rosalya noted his puzzled look and sighed through her nose. This boy _really_ needed her guidance.

"Confess with your shirt off, Kentin," she told him. "That way he can see how attractive you are. Tell him reasons why you think you would make a great couple, or how you'd be the best boyfriend he's ever had. Ask him to go on one date with you to give you a chance, and promise you'll take him shopping or something if he agrees. Things like that."

"Okay." Confessing with his shirt off seemed a little weird in his opinion, but Rosalya was the expert here and the rest of her advice seemed sound. "How did you tell Candy how you felt?"

"Hm?" Rosalya tipped her head to the side. "Didn't she tell you?"

"She just said that you were direct."

"I was. Being direct is highly important in these scenarios. If you aren't clear with your feelings, you could easily give someone the wrong impression, and that can lead to even more miscommunication between both parties." Rosalya waggled her finger at him. "When I told Candy how I felt, I didn't _ask_ her out. I _told_ her she was going on a date with me whether she wanted to or not. If she didn't feel a spark, she wouldn't have to go out with me again."

Well, being direct was one thing, but being demanding wasn't really Kentin's style, even if it had worked out for Rosalya. Nonetheless, this had been a very informative conversation. He felt somewhat more confident now, a bit more prepared. He thanked Rosalya and left.

წ

"So what's up?" Alexy asked casually, an easy smile on his oblivious visage.

Okay. This was okay, no big deal. Kentin could do this. He just had to do what Rosalya said, be enticing and direct.

"I...I think..." Damn it! He had the feelings, he had the words! They just wouldn't come out! The letters scrambled and wadded and stuck in the back of his throat like fishbones.

"You think...?" Alexy gave him a mingled look of prompting and curiosity.

"I...Uh, are you doing anything after school?" Kentin managed to articulate.

"Actually yeah. I'm going to the mall with Candy and Violette. Do you wanna come?"

This was not working. This was not working at all. Kentin dejectedly put his face in his hands and just shook his head.

"No, that's okay. I'll see you later." He walked away and left a confused Alexy scratching his head in the middle of the hallway.

The next day Kentin tried again. He found Alexy right after gym class, so it looked like a coincidence that he was shirtless. Yeah. After how bad he'd failed at confessing last time, he was wiling to take that suggestion.

"Hey," he breathed, gently touching Alexy's arm to get his attention.

The blue-haired teen wheeled around. "Oh hey. You know, you look kind of sweaty. Do you wanna borrow my towel?"

Kentin froze. Sweaty? Oh god, did that mean he looked gross!? Or worse, smelled gross!? He'd put on deodorant, but it's not like that stuff always worked. Self-consciousness jabbed him right in the gut. All the words he was going to say curdled and expired on his tongue.

"Uh, Kentin?" A gleam of concern touched Alexy's cerise gaze.

"Never mind," Kentin said abruptly. He retreated to his locker and vainly wished that he could fit inside, pull it shut, and never come out again.

Kentin tried again the following day. Third time's the charm, right? Hopefully the saying rang true.

He took Alexy aside before classes started, when Armin had branched off from them with a PSP in hand, mumbling something about fighting Ophelia the witch.

"Look," Kentin started, his heart suddenly laboring like a too-tight drum. "I like you. I really, really like you! If you're interested, I promise I'll try to be the best boyfriend ever." He was direct enough, he just hoped he didn't sound like some punk in a cheesy chick-flick on the soap opera channel.

A fizzy note of laugher bubbled past Alexy's lips. It turned into a series of light, buoyant giggles. The sounds immediately made Kentin warm with effervescence, but it was exchanged for mortification when the ball dropped.

Alexy was laughing at him.

He just took a chance and confessed his feelings, and instead of bothering to reject him kindly, Alexy was openly scorning him.

An arrow of hurt struck right through Kentin's chest. Embarrassment burned him like chili pepper, all the way to the tips of his ears. He tried to tell him to stop but all that left his mouth was a muted noise from a trembling jaw.

Alexy's sides instantly stilled when he saw Kentin's expression. "I'm sorry! Ken, please!" He took Kentin's hand as if he were scared the brunette was going to bolt. "I'm not laughing at you! I'm just happy! Really happy! You've been trying to tell me something all week and I've been wondering what it was. I was a little nervous it might be something bad, like you were moving away...But instead, you just said everything I always wished you would say to me."

A rose blush dusted Alexy's cheeks, a delighted smile shaping his lips. Overwhelmed with relief and sunbursts of affection, Kentin kissed those lips. Alexy kissed him back, eyes fluttering closed.

They were both late for class and they couldn't have been paid to care less.


	2. Chapter 2

Kentin absently rolled his pencil across the desk as the teacher droned on. His mind was anywhere but there. He was thinking about conventional expected things like his cute boyfriend and what might be on television later, and what route he would take when he went jogging tomorrow morning. He was also thinking about unconventional random things like the way flamingos stood on one leg and how most cylindrical lampshades were ugly, and how gross french fries slathered in strawberry jam must taste.

Such things weren't hard to think about when one was wholly devoid of an engaging focal point.

But class got a lot less boring when Mr. Faraize placed a carton of eggs on the table and announced a class project.

"You're all getting to that age where you're going to have to learn to be responsible. Not just responsible as in taking care of homework and getting your rooms clean, which are both examples of being responsible for yourself, but responsible as in able to nurture a small human being." The nervous teacher adjusted his glasses further up the bridge of his nose and released a tight sigh.

"A boy and a girl will pair up to care for an egg for this week. This project is meant to help you practice parenting, so if the egg is broken by the end of the week, you automatically fail the project. Be diligent about this, it's worth fifty points."

"A week? Won't the egg spoil?" Capucine wrinkled her nose.

"They've all been hardboiled," assured Mr. Farazie.

Alexy was polite enough to raise his hand and wait until Mr. Faraize nodded at him.

"Do I have to pair with a girl?" he asked. "If this is supposed to prepare us for parenting, it'll be wasted practice if I'm partnered with a girl. I don't swing that way."

"I don't want to be partnered with the opposite sex either," Kim chimed in. Though her words were toward the teacher, her grinning eyes pinned a beet-faced Violette.

Mr. Faraize floundered, clearly taken off-guard. "Ah, I see...You two can partner with whoever you want— Or rather, everyone in the class can partner with who they see fit to." The teacher glanced around uneasily.

Charlotte's hand rose in the air.

"Yes?"

"Can we have more than one partner?" she asked flatly.

"Ah...I suppose that's fine too," Mr. Faraize answered tentatively. "The main objective here is to take care of the egg. Do not let your egg break, or crack, or get lost under any circumstances. After finding your partner, you're going to spend the rest of class customizing your egg. I'll take a picture of it before you leave. This way you can't replace the egg with one from the store in the event that it does get damaged."

Kentin thought this was stupid. Well, he supposed learning how to parent wasn't that stupid in itself. But with an egg? Eggs weren't like children. Children cried and ate and crapped. They were living things. However, stupid or not, this was going to be an easy A. All he had to do was put it somewhere cushy for the rest of the week and/or make sure Alexy kept it somewhere cushy too.

His aforementioned boyfriend trotted right over when Mr. Faraize gave the instruction to go find partners and sat on Kentin's desk.

"What do you want to name our child?" he asked, gleeful glimmer in his gaze.

Kentin breathed a sound of mirth. "It doesn't need a name. It's just an egg."

"Aww, c'mon," Alexy chirruped, lightly nudging Kentin's shoulder. "This could be fun!"

Iris interrupted before Kentin could reply, as she was passing out the eggs. Alexy took it and gingerly patted the top of it with his fingertips.

"The pink sticker on the bottom means it's a girl egg," she informed them cheerfully, then continuing on.

"So we have a daughter," Alexy chuckled. "How about we call her Alexandria?"

Kentin scoffed. "A little egotistical there, don't you think?"

"Maybe. But it is a pretty name."

"Fine. We can call it Alexandria." Kentin rolled his eyes.

"_Her_," corrected Alexy. With that, he left the egg in Kentin's care and hopped off the desk. He retrieved a green marker, a scrap of tangelo fabric and a stick of glue.

Kentin thought the stupidity of this project had reached levels, the fact that Alexy actually wanted to name it and give it pronouns and doodle on it was almost enough to make him cringe. Even so, he must've had some subconscious desire to have fun with the thing because when Alexy handed him the marker, he didn't say, _no way_, or _why_, or _do it yourself_.

He just smirked drily at his own expense and drew two eyes.

"I picked green on purpose," chirped Alexy after the fact, poking his tongue out playfully.

"What? I don't get— Oh. Oh my god." He had green eyes. Alexy wanted the egg to match him. He facepalmed. "You're so ridiculous."

Alexy hummed in either agreement, amusement, or both and proceeded to glue the tangelo fabric around the egg so that it looked like it wore a little shirt. Even Kentin had to admit that it was kind of cute. For an egg anyway.

"Something's still missing," murmured Alexy as he scrutinized their pseudo offspring.

"It doesn't have to look like a work of art, Alexy," replied Kentin. "It just has to look distinct so we can't swap it for another one. Which it does."

"But something is missing," Alexy insisted with a hint of genuine urgency. "Something looks _wrong_."

Kentin exhaled in minute frustration and studied the egg closely. It had a crisp white shell, as expected. The drawn on eyes were shiny and not quite even, but he had done his best and the little quirk of unevenness was likely to make the egg that much more distinctive. The felt of its 'shirt' had a minuscule ball of lint sticking to it. Nothing was wrong with it.

He opened his mouth to tell so to Alexy when he realized that _yes_, in fact there _was_ something wrong with it. The realization zapped him like a lightning bolt. He quickly snapped his fingers.

"She needs a mouth!"

"Yes! That's exactly what's missing," vehemently agreed Alexy. "Give her a smile."

So Kentin picked up a pen and scrawled on an elongated 'u' beneath the egg's eyes. It was simple, a little bumpy, didn't even take five seconds. But it looked more complete somehow.

წ

"I can't believe we're doing this," Kentin muttered later in the day when his boyfriend had shown up unannounced with the egg in his pocket and an empty tissue box tucked under his arm.

"It makes sense," insisted Alexy. "She's delicate. She needs to be kept somewhere soft."

"That's as simple as putting her in the corner and just letting her sit for a week. It's not necessary to make her a bed."

Alexy gave Kentin one of his irresistible looks, head tilted just a fraction, cerise pools glinting with expectance, mouth tucked down in pastel mourning, as though you'd just kicked him and made him drop an ice cream cone.

"Fine," Kentin gave in, bending to submission under that stare. He dug through his closet and found an old striped pillowcase that felt downy enough to cushion an egg. After all, his mother used fabric softener on everything. He folded the pillowcase up and gently fitted it into the bottom of the tissue box.

"Happy now?"

"Smooth it out a little more," Alexy requested teasingly.

Kentin scoffed and shoved him away.

Alexy swiveled around on his heels and slid the egg out of his pocket. He charily placed it in its bed and then to Kentin's shock and abashment, took it to his living room and put the television on for it (some kid's channel with a cartoon cuttlefish twirling across the screen).

"Um...Don't you think you're taking this too far?" Kentin followed him, brow squiggling. "Putting the tv on for it? That's pretty weird."

Alexy looked to him with a smug set to his jaw, a devilish flame flickering in his eyes. "It's not for Alexandria. It's for your parents. They're not home yet. When they do come home, I'd rather have them hear this than hear us."

The blue-haired teen turned up the volume before discarding the remote on the couch. He fluidly strode up to Kentin, his hips swaying in an exaggerated motion that somehow kept a tantalizing grace. He hooked a finger under Kentin's dog tags and tugged him to his bedroom. Kentin let himself be pushed back onto the bed, anticipation blazing through his stomach. Alexy climbed onto Kentin's lap, knees pushed to the comforter and wicked fingers hotly skimming over skin and tugging at polyester.

Kentin threaded his fingers though Alexy's locks and wiggled his tongue through the torrid, wet slit of his parted lips. He swallowed Alexy's moan and tasted tropical juice, salt, desire. Alexy broke the kiss to draw his mouth over the stretch between Kentin's throat and collarbone, the puff of his breaths warm and the pressure of his teeth gentle. Pleasure unfurled beneath his sensitized flesh.

Alexy was a special lover. His touches were tender and his mouth was pliable. He would incorporate snippets of spice at inopportune junctures and it didn't take long for Kentin to discover just how wonderful it could be to be surprised by someone.

He cupped the curve of Alexy's ass and the quick, quiet noise of an opening zipper was lost under sounds pushed fourth from eager lips.


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note: Due to my extensive viewing of Utena, Alexy has turned into Wakaba Shinohara. I am so sorry ._.**

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><p>"Your brother sick or something?" Kentin blinked as only Alexy met him at the end of the walkway.<p>

"Nope, he's just skipping out so he can play Skyrim. Usually I stop him from doing that, but he's really intense about it today." Alexy rolled his eyes. "He must have reached a new stage or however it is that works…But that's okay! Because it means I get you all to myself this morning, Kentin, my love." With that, the gleeful blue-haired teen leapt onto Kentin's back.

"Yeah, yeah," grunted the brunette, taking a hold of Alexy's legs and starting off to school. "Don't see why I have to carry you, when you have two perfectly good legs of your own."

Alexy giggled and playfully nuzzled his face against Kentin's. "You like my legs? I'm flattered."

Unamused, Kentin dumped his boyfriend down on a neighbor's lawn.

"Hey," Alexy cried, laughing as he rolled across the grassy carpet.

"You were asking for it," Kentin told him with a grin as he continued to stroll down the sidewalk.

"You're so mean!" The smaller teen sprung up from the ground and jogged to catch up. The brunette had just pulled a package of cookies from his pocket and was in the middle of opening it.

He ignored the puppy dog pout Alexy was giving him in favor of taking a cookie out of the pack and popping it into his mouth. "Want one?" He held the package out to him.

"Sure," Alexy brightened again and took a few.

Munching over the sweet snack, Kentin felt a distinct needle of pain on his bottom jaw. But then it was gone, just like that. He resumed his chewing and— Ow! There it was again! It wasn't a horrible pain, but it was sharp, definitely unpleasant. The brunette shifted the cookie to the other side of his mouth to see if that helped. It was awkward but there wasn't any pain anymore.

Wondering what that was all about, he shrugged once and it left his mind.

წ

He didn't think any more of it until lunch. Eating his sandwich was painless, but when he took a sip of Alexy's cola, that infuriating prick of pain was back again. He grimaced and passed the can back.

"Since when don't you like Vanilla Coke?" Alexy peeked at Kentin curiously.

"I think that one's gone flat," the brunette answered. He wasn't eager on telling his boyfriend about the randomly coming and going toothache. Alexy would undoubtably tease him about it.

"You have no sense of taste," the blue-haired teen chuckled and the matter was dropped.

About two weeks later, eating anything sweet was nothing short of agony. Pain exploded in his tooth upon the contact of sugar and it was simply unbearable. Cold things were also a big no-no. At first Kentin thought it was only ice cream and popsicles he had to avoid because of their sweet flavors, but he soon found that anything cold reawakened the searing throb in his jaw. He refrained from drinking anything other than lukewarm tap water.

"Are you on some kind of weird diet?" Alexy asked the following Monday.

"No."

"Then how come I haven't seen you eat any of those cookies you like lately? And you didn't have any cake at Iris's birthday party either."

"Uh…" Kentin scratched his cheek, raking his brain for a good explanation. Lying was not his strong suit. "I think my taste buds are changing?"

Alexy sighed and shook his head. "You're awful at lying. You should't even bother. But you don't need to be on some weird diet, Kentin. You're already a sexy thang." His boyfriend stuck out his tongue and gave a flirty wink. It was probably supposed to come off as attractive, but it just made the brunette laugh.

Laughing earned him the title of 'jerk' and a playful kick under the table.

The topic of his uncharacteristic eating habits as of late was forgotten until gym. By the end of the class, both boys were sweating and panting like dogs.

"You want some water?" Alexy asked breathlessly. Kentin nodded and took the plastic bottle held out to him. He didn't register that it was cold until he was chugging away and the icy flood sent a shock through his tooth. Agony riddled through his entire mouth, pulsing as Kentin jerked the bottle from his lips.

"Ow," he hissed, clutching the side of his jaw in a vain effort to ease the pain.

"What is it?" Alexy looked on in confusion.

"You didn't tell me it was cold," he complained, "Cold stuff hurts my tooth. Sweet stuff too," he added with some reluctance. But it was for the best, lest his boyfriend give him any.

Alexy's brow furrowed. "How long has this been going on?"

"Little over a week," Kentin mumbled. The pain started to subside.

"So that's why you're on some weird diet. Jeez, Ken, why didn't you just go to the dentist?" he sighed in disapproval, arms folding over his chest.

"Well…" It was a simple reason, really. He was fucking petrified of going. The dentist's was basically a torture chamber, with large, metal drills, seats they forcibly strapped you down in, and godawful elevator music soaring through the background like the ghost of some busted piano. The very notion of going there jabbed thorns of fear into his gut.

"Are you scared?"

"No! Of course not!" Kentin could feel embarrassment incinerating his cheeks.

Amusement tweaked Alexy's lips and he let out a chuckle. "Right. Just like you're not scared of Castiel."

"I'm not!"

The blue-haired male uncrossed his arms and patted him on the back. "Alright, chill out. It's fine to be scared of the dentist. A lot of people are. But you should still go, instead of just tiptoeing around food and being in pain all the time. That's not healthy."

Kentin didn't reply. He did, in fact, find his current state of being preferable than going to the dentist. It may have sounded silly, but the images of hyper-powered drills and strap-down chairs in his head were just too daunting.

"I'll say it again," he managed finally, "I'm not scared."

"If you don't go by yourself, I'll just have to take you."

Kentin kissed him to shut him up.

წ

There wasn't a shred in him that believed Alexy was serious. This was his downfall. After school the very next day, Alexy and Armin forcibly seized him and dragged him to a hell disguised as a cleanly facility.

"You can't escape," Armin declared. "We already booked you an appointment."

"You w-wha-what!?"

"It's for your own good," said Alexy. "It's just going to get worse if you don't take care of it."

"No it won't! It's fine," Kentin protested stridently.

But his dissents were in vain. The two of them were enough to subdue the one of him and he was ushered into what was literally the most uncomfortable chair his ass had ever acquainted. That insufferable elevator music played on, deafening in the background and rattling in the space between his temples. Armin's muttering and video game noises broke it up every now and then, but only for a few seconds.

"You're not mad, are you?" Alexy asked quietly.

"I'm pissed," spat Kentin, emerald glower as cold as the edge of a battle axe.

"But we're really just trying to help," Alexy murmured.

A man with a clipboard calling his name interrupted Kentin's reply. The immediate spear of dread he felt was an all girding sensation, powerful enough to shove everything else out, even the aggravation. He stood up on legs made of pudding, face as pale as Casper.

"Do you want me to go with you?" Alexy asked tentatively.

Saying 'yes' was humiliating on just about every level and decimated any and all sense of pride Kentin had, but he said it anyway because he was truly scared out of his skin. Alexy actually held his hand as he was lead down the hallway and he was holding his hand in that kind of comforting way that parent's hold their toddler's hands, not the way boyfriends hold hands, which also reached levels of shame but Kentin was still too plain terrified to be embarrassed.

The dentist was a nice woman who made no comment about Alexy's presence being unnecessary. She just did her job and scoped out Kentin's mouth. There was some pain when she discovered his problem tooth with this tiny, horrifying hook instrument. But he'd suffered blips of worse pain throughout the past week and it was the principle of the action that crawled under his skin and quickened his heart more than the hurt.

The entire ordeal was grueling and unending and Kentin was drenched in sheets of cold sweat by the time it was over. Except it wasn't over, it wasn't over at all, this was just the easy part. He had two, no three, cavities as an x-ray revealed one between his premolars in addition to the one that had made the majority of eating pure anguish, and the as of yet small and painless one beside it.

He had to come back to get the big one filled at the very least, and apparently soon if he didn't want to have to have a fucking root canal.

"It won't be that bad," Alexy encouraged on the walk out, after the shaky agreement to come back had been dragged out of his tightened throat. "I've gotten a couple fillings before. It's not big deal. The sound the drill makes is the worst part and you can just borrow my iPod to drown it out. And I'll come with you again."

These are small comforts but they are his only comforts so Kentin takes them.

წ

"See? That wasn't the worst thing in the world, was it?"

"Your taste in music isn't that great," Kentin mumbled, relieved it's over but quite a stretch from being in a pleasant mood.

Alexy rolled his eyes and lightly pecked him on the lips.

"I'd kiss you back if I could actually feel my mouth."


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's Note: This is directly taken out of my life. My friend wanted a lava lamp for her birthday so I went on a journey to find one that lasted like ten hours. This is also me acknowledging that I didn't upload any crap for the twins' birthday. I didn't forget, I've just been insanely busy. The thing for Doxy just got uploaded after the fact because like this thing, I'd started it waaay beforehand o_e'**

** Who knows, maybe whenever I do get free time back later and finish those requests I still have to do, I'll belatedly feed them to giant squids or boil them in oil or something. **

* * *

><p>Armin isn't really hard to shop for. He's constantly in need of new games, new controllers, money or gift cards for MMORPGS, massive family-sized bags of chips so he had something to keep him going during his continuous all-nighters. Alexy on the other hand, is very hard to shop for. He likes clothes, yeah, but his stylistic choices are pretty specific and Kentin only knows enough about fashion to keep himself looking sharp.<p>

Besides, Candy already told him that she was going to get him some new jeans. Kentin couldn't piggyback off of someone else's idea. He was in a difficult position. He scanned his brain and looked through all the fissures for something Alexy would want and he got zilch. His birthday was on June 7th, so that only gave him two days. It would be embarrassing to ask Alexy what he wanted this late in the game, and it was just frustrating that he should have to ask at all.

They'd been dating for three months and they'd been friends long before that. He should easily know what to get for him for his birthday, damn it. But he didn't and between the choices of losing a little pride by asking Alexy specifically what he wants, or taking a gamble and disastrously getting something he definitely wouldn't want, the answer was clear.

Kentin gave in and walked to his house. It might've been easier to just text him, but it was on the way to the bus stop anyway. The day was balmy, the sun shone in a cloudless sky and a warm zephyr gusted through the atmosphere. He closed his eyes to enjoy the way it brushed through his hair before he rang the doorbell.

It was the twins' mother who answered, her textured hair up in a ponytail and a bright smile leaping to her lips when she saw him. "Well hi there, Kentin."

"Hi." He found himself smiling back at her. She was a really nice lady, easy to feel comfortable around even though one would assume it'd be awkward.

"I'm sorry, but the boys aren't here. You can still come in if you want, have a glass of water."

Uh-oh...Wait, maybe this wasn't so bad. Asking Alexy what he wanted for his birthday was going to be embarrassing anyway. His mother lived with him, so she was bound to have some kind of idea, right?

"No thank you. But has Alexy mentioned what he might want for his birthday, by any chance?" A twinge of self-concsiousness leapfrogged through Kentin's middle.

"Hm? Oh, yes. A few things. One thing I didn't manage to find was a lava lamp."

"A lava lamp?"

She nodded. "He wants one for his nightstand."

"Oh." Mission A accomplished. "Any specific color?"

"He didn't mention one, but I'd think orange or yellow would suit his room best."

Kentin had been in said room more than enough times to know that this was probably correct and more important, correct in Alexy's eyes. He thanked her and left, advancing on to the bus stop. He leaned against the sign and absently tapped his fingers together as he wondered where he'd get a lava lamp. He was naturally going to go to the mall, but wasn't sure what store inside said mall he'd hit first.

"Hey look, it's Kentin."

At the note of a familiar voice peeping his name, Kentin glanced over to see Candy waving, her other hand intertwined with Rosalya's.

He waved back to them.

"So where are you going today?" Candy asked as they drew to a stop at the bench.

"The mall. How about you two?"

"We're going to the mall too," said Rosalya. "What a coincidence."

Kentin blinked. "Oh yeah? Do you think you could help me find a lava lamp then?"

"I think I saw one at Micro Games," said Candy.

"Oh good, I had to go there anyway." Kentin grinned.

The bus ride to the mall was filled with amiable conversation and quiet jokes about the other passengers and went by rather quickly. When they arrived at their destination, they parted waves with smiles. Just out of curiosity Kentin watched what direction they headed off in and then immediately looked away as they ducked into the lingerie shop. He mentally scolded himself as he felt a blush burn his face.

Nothing good ever came from spying on people. He shuffled off to the escalator, watching the people below get smaller as he was carried up to the second floor. He walked to Micro Games and traveled down every aisle, meticulously searching every shelf. He picked up some portable game that looked like it'd be up Armin's alley, with this thing on the cover that looked a hell of a lot like the Cloverfield monster.

He found the lava lamps located at the back, amongst the other miscellaneous merchandise. But there was a problem. The only colors available were purple, blue, and glittery silver. That just wouldn't cut it.

Kentin bought the game for Armin and left, determined to acquire a lava lamp elsewhere.

He tried the other stores in the mall but alas, there were none.

Breathing a low sigh, Kentin left and caught the bus again. He decided to venture into the Dollar Shop and see if he could find one there. Candy had told him before that whenever she went to the Dollar Shop, Louis would have exactly what she needed, conventional or not, so he supposed this was a pretty good bet. Kentin zipped right to the section with various decor.

He pawed through different posters and mirrors and desk lights and he found quite a lot. He found flameless candles, a light that looked like an inflated blowfish, a singing trout that could be put up on the wall, ceramic busts of dead artists and papers lanterns, but no lava lamp. Grumbling, he turned around and started to leave, only to find a gigantic toothbrush mere centimeters from being as tall as he was. It must've been for decoration because this could only fit an ogre's mouth.

His frustration reaching a crescendo, Kentin snatched the toothbrush and marched to the counter.

"How!?" he demanded. "How is it you have something as weird as this, but you don't even have a freaking lava lamp!?"

Louis frowned and scratched his bristly head. "I'm sorry, young man. I'm actually not in control of stocking this store. I just man the front."

Immediately Kentin felt sour and immature for yelling at him. "I'm sorry, that was rude..."

Louis waved his hand. "It was a valid question. But you said it was a lava lamp you're looking for?"

Kentin nodded.

"Try The Street Show a few blocks over. That shop has all kinds of things of that hippie nature."

"Oh. Um, thanks." Kentin gave him a warm smile and swerved back to return the toothbrush. He'd heard of The Street Show, but he'd never been inside. His mom bought incense there sometimes and Kim had mentioned a friend who worked there.

He trekked the three blocks it took to get there only to see a 'Closed' sign mock him in blocky white letters.

The urge to kick the door roared through his legs and had him clenching his teeth, but Kentin kept his cool and walked away.

His luck today could literally not be worse. It was time to throw in the towel. He would try again tomorrow and he'd ask Alexy if there was something he wanted besides a lava lamp.

Heavy with failure on his shoulders, Kentin started home. On his way he spotted what looked like a delivery truck, sidelined on the road. There was a woman in a uniform sitting on the back of the truck amid a cluster of boxes. When she saw Kentin, she motioned him over with swooping gestures.

"Excuse me! Do you have a cellphone?"

"Yeah," Kentin called back. "Do you need to call someone?" It looked like he wasn't the only one having dumpster luck today.

"Yes! I have a flat tire and these shipments are due in a half-hour!"

Sympathizing, Kentin walked over and gave her his phone. Her eyes glittered in gratitude as she made her call. Kentin just stood around idle until she'd requested a tow and took it back from her.

"Thank you," she said warmly.

"No problem."

"Could I interest you in a free lava lamp?" She gestured to the boxes around her. "I've been stuck here for two hours and three people have passed me up today. I'd like to repay your kindness."

"These are lava lamps," Kentin repeated, barely allowing himself to hope he'd heard her right.

"Uh-huh."

"Do you have an orange one!? Or a yellow one!?"

She seemed slightly taken aback by his excitement but nodded. "Sure. It says what color they are on the box so we can keep them separated. Let me just..." She turned and drew her finger along a line of boxes, peering at them. "Aha! Here's an orange one!" She picked it up and held it out to him.

Kentin was so ecstatic he kissed it.

წ

"Wow," Alexy exclaimed as he took his new lava lamp out of the gift bag. His blinked rapidly, cerise orbs like parasols bursting open. "I actually really wanted one of these!"

He turned to Kentin, awe and dazzling delight painting his features. "Thanks! How did you know?"

Kentin shrugged, smirking and playing it off like it was no big deal. "It just looked like something you would like."


	5. Chapter 5

The fair was amazing at night. Lights flashed form the midway and a crevasse of bright color popped out against the ink of the sky. Joyful screaming and whooping rose high in the air and got carried off by zooming roller coasters. Upbeat electro pop played continuously, an undercurrent for the boisterous encouragement of workers who manned the game tents.

The warm, tantalizing aroma of fried dough and fresh cotton candy wafted around in spate, teasing Kentin's nose. Sweat trickled down the back of his neck and caused his top to stick to his skin. The humidity had him flushed and it was way too broiling and stifling to be holding Alexy's hand, but he was anyway.

"What do you wanna do first?" Alexy asked, peering at Kentin over his hot magenta sunglasses. The lights of the ferries wheel danced in the lenses.

It was as good a place to start as any, so Kentin tugged him off to the line.

Even though making out when you got stuck at the top was the most cheesy, overdone, roll-your-eyes-at-cliché thing any dumb lovestruck teens could do, they did it gladly. The air was cooler up there and the brazen tip of Alexy's tongue glazed over the slight aperture of his lips. Kentin inclined his head and slid a hand along Alexy's thigh as he deliriously smashed their mouths together.

"We should get lemonade," Alexy suggested when they stepped off, their lips swollen and chests swelling with giddy weightlessness.

"Yeah," Kentin agreed. "That sounds great."

Because it was as hot as the devil's asscrack out there. And when they got it, it was a cup of perfect. Cold and refreshing and just a hint of sour and the little seeds that got sipped up between both straws let them know that it was made with real lemons.

As they sat on a sticky bench and under an umbrella, slurping away the last of the drink, Kentin couldn't help looking to this stuffed animal that sat in the prize net of a dart tent. It was a colossal tawny teddy bear as wide and tall as a refrigerator with big button eyes. Despite himself and everything he tried to strive for, a part of him just wanted to go over there and sit in its huge, cuddly lap.

"Do you want that bear?" Alexy asked, blinking curiously.

"Huh? No, of course not!" He abruptly looked away, feeling a blush coming on. Hell yeah he wanted that bear. It was as adorable as a kitten climbing over a floppy-eared puppy. But he was a manly military school boy and manly military school boys were not supposed to like stuffed animals. Especially super cute huggable teddy bears.

"Yes you do," Alexy chortled. "Come on, Ken, you know you can't lie to me."

"Okay, yeah, I want it," Kentin admitted with a wistful smile of shame. "But it's not like I could win it anyway. It's the grand prize, look at the sign. You need to hit all fifty balloons in the top row."

Alexy thoughtfully rubbed his chin. Without another word he got up and trotted to the dart tent.

Kentin stood up and hurried after him. "Alexy, thanks, but it's okay. That's just too many balloons you have to hit, you'll be wasting your money."

"Have faith in me," Alexy insisted as he pushed his sunglasses back into place.

He then paid the man to play the game and sucked in a deep breath. He actually got into a stance; feet parted, back keen and straight, elbows readied. Kentin would've laughed, had he not looked so intense. This kind of intensity on anyone was something to behold, on Alexy it was outright surreal. Alexy was one of the most lighthearted, unfettered people he knew.

Alexy unleashed the first dart with a neat, precise throw. It struck and so did the one after, and the one after, and the one after. Each strike was fast and direct, balloons popping in a series like firecrackers, the trajectory spot on. Kentin watched in complete astonishment, halfway sure he'd just been plunged into a dream.

"The teddy bear please?" Alexy asked when it was over, the entire top row of balloons reduced to rubber scraps.

The incredulous worker stared at him like he some kind of mystical unicorn and slowly retrieved the prize. Alexy's arms sagged as he took it, a strained noise pulled from his lips.

"Oh my gosh, Ken, it's heavy! Help me!"

With that, Kentin was yanked out of his spell. He swaggered forward and took one side of the enormous bear.

"You really did want it, right?" Alexy peeked around the bear's head to search Kentin's face.

"Y-Yeah! It's great, thank you! I'm just shocked. I never knew you could throw darts like a pro!"

Alexy giggled. "I wouldn't call myself a pro, but it was kind of a hobby when I was younger. I had a Kim Possible dartboard."

They put the bear on the bench they shared earlier and Kentin treated Alexy to an elephant ear. He thanked him again as he breached the gap between them and kissed the powdered sugar and cinnamon from his lips.

* * *

><p><strong>This probably has so many fucking typos. Bah. Imma go back and try to fix 'em. Well, anyway...Yeah. Surprise, Mella~! Hope you found this crap tolerable. Now Imma get back to requests. <strong>


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